A multilevel social-ecological network approach for reconciling coastal saltmarsh conservation and development

In a large-scale region, governance for connectivity in an ecological system often conflicts with management boundaries, causing inefficiencies. Collaboration among management organizations in different areas can help overcome this problem. However, few studies quantified the collaborations' practical relationship with connectivity, considering that some potentially connected paths are easy to neglect by managers. In this paper, collaborations among government agencies in project application process were analyzed, and a multilevel social-ecological network analysis (SENA) approach was developed to identify the collaboration's effect on genetically connected coastal areas. The network framework and methods were shown in a case of coastal saltmarsh conservation and development in the Yellow River Delta, China. Collaboration patterns in conservation and development networks were analyzed and compared among local, subregional, and regional government agencies working in genetically connected coastal areas. Project information flow, reflecting communication frequency and decision-making chances among government agencies was quantified and correlated with ecological connectivity to inform governance effects. Results showed areas with the potential to realize social-ecological alignment, where collaborative networks were measured by network density (percentage of connected network edges). The current reveals that development has more significant potential than conservation at most levels to overcome the misalignment of the social-ecological system, also known as scale mismatch. Empirical evidence also showed a correlation between communication capacity in development networks and improved ecological conditions. The multilevel SENA advanced in this paper can be used for natural resource management when connectivity plays a major role.